Photo by Katie Rodriguez on Unsplash Members of the European Parliament will this week vote for agreement on the EU Methane Regulation. With this regulation, the EU will for the first time adopt binding measures to reduce methane emissions. Methane is the main component of natural gas and is also released during oil and coal production. There are already…
Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash The King of Belgium has highlighted Europe’s role as a “geo-ecological actor”, and called for the defence of democracy in the face of autocratic trends. In his address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, King Philippe stressed that in recent years, Europe has been marked by crises, and that in “these times…
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash New polling says the far-right is divided” in the run up to the EU elections in June. This is one of the many findings detailed in a report published by the European Council on Foreign Relations. It was authored by leading political scientists Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard and…
Photo by Saif71.com on Unsplash All MEPs will in future have to follow mandatory training sessions within the first six months in office focusing on the prevention of conflict and harassment in the workplace. They will also be taught “effective office management.” Parliament’s new anti-harassment rule, which has just been agreed, will be among the final votes during…
Photo by Nigel Tadyanehondo on Unsplash A transport campaign group says that MEPs are supporting the expansion in the number of extra-long and extra-heavy lorries on EU roads. They go on to warn that this poses “serious potential consequences for road safety.” The parliament this week voted on a proposal published in July last year by the European…
Russia should bear “criminal responsibility” for the death of dissident Alexie Navalny, according to MEPs. The claim, by the Greens, came on the day Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya , made a speech to the EU parliament plenary session in Strasbourg. Her husband died in suspicious circumstances in a Russian jail over a week ago. Sergey…
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash New rules are set to be introduced which would protect journalists and activists from abusive lawsuits against public participation. The long-awaited anti-SLAPP directive protects journalists and human rights defenders from strategic lawsuits against public participation that aim to silence them. The new rules contain a set of safeguards to protect victims, such…
Photo by Hans Martin on Unsplash The German city of Frankfurt has been chosen by Parliament and Council as the seat of AMLA, the EU’s new enforcer in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. MEPs and EU ambassadors chose Frankfurt to host the EU’s central enforcer in the fight against dirty money, the Authority for Anti-Money…
Photo by Jeffrey Riley on Unsplash New rules are set to be introduced with the aim of combating the scourge of child abuse. This comes after the European Parliament and the Belgian Presidency reached an agreement that extends a temporary derogation to EU ePrivacy rules by 20 months to allow the detection of Child Sexual Abuse Material online. The…
Photo by Nong on Unsplash MEPs have backed new rules that aim to decrease the number of unsafe toys sold in the EU single market and protect children better from toy-related risks. On Tuesday, the parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee approved its position on an update of EU rules on toy safety unanimously, with 37 votes…
